Share on other sites

i got it down to 2ppms out, i tested ammonia and phos and its all 0. i might check nitrates. i ordered a diff carbon filter and 7lbs of DI and a refillable DI cartridge. got those for $16 with reward points lol

Link to post

Share on other sites

i got it down to 2ppms out, i tested ammonia and phos and its all 0. i might check nitrates. i ordered a diff carbon filter and 7lbs of DI and a refillable DI cartridge. got those for $16 with reward points lol

Yeah man, I buy the bulk di 2 bags at a time. I have a double stack ro membrane and it seems to burn through my di quickly. I get 0 tds for about 100 gallons and then I need to change it.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

She's chugging along. Ammonia is still high, but since I'm BB I figured that's what it is.So waiting for that to finish before I add in a tang... Idk what's going to come first the tang (yellow eye kole, my LFS is having a hard time finding them.) or the ammonia to drop 🤣.

Rodi is working really well, skimmer has a mind of its own and drops the water level inside of the skimmer so in turn I have to adjust it which then my ATO kicks on and dumps fresh rodi water into the sump (I have to learn to turn it off before messing with the skimmer)

Heater is working really well with the ink bird controller tho I have it in Fahrenheit so it drops 1° before it turns on. My two RODI flood Guardians are worth their weight in gold and then some!

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

If you are reading ammonia, then do not put livestock in the tank. Ammonia should always be zero. If not, your tank has not cycled. The last thing you need is a big waste producing fish like a tang at this point!

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

If you are reading ammonia, then do not put livestock in the tank. Ammonia should always be zero. If not, your tank has not cycled. The last thing you need is a big waste producing fish like a tang at this point!

oh yeah, i didnt plan on it. i was just wondering which would come first, the ammonia dropping or my lfs being able to get a small kole tang.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Update on the driver for the S2 return pump. It works haha. I didn't know you had to put in the WiFi chip so was running it for a few days with out it in and wondering why my W light wasn't on... They even let me keep my old driver which is nice!

Ammonia is still around 1.5PPM. I'm honestly thinking that the bottle of bacteria I ordered got ruined in Louisiana heat. So going to call Epic and see if they have any and if not call the other 2 LFS here (puke) and see if they have any.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Typically I think you want it to be between 1-2ppm ammonia for fishless cycling with most bacteria in a bottle. Any higher than that, you are wasting money, as the bioload won't sustain the bacteria colonies and may lead to a collapse as you slowly add fish, and trigger a mini-cycle, stressing stuff out further.

I think you are good on this one, so long as you are patient with the cycle. Adding more ammonia now might just prolong it.

Are you testing Nitrites/Nitrates to see if the ammonia is being converted?

Amazon or BRS for Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride if you need it for cycling a tank down the road.

Some people claim they were ready for fish in a week with Dr Tim's and other products. It took me about 3 weeks before I was sure my nitrites/nitrates were in line, but I had over 500 gallons of water and nearly 300lbs of rock with 200lbs of sand.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Typically I think you want it to be between 1-2ppm ammonia for fishless cycling with most bacteria in a bottle. Any higher than that, you are wasting money, as the bioload won't sustain the bacteria colonies and may lead to a collapse as you slowly add fish, and trigger a mini-cycle, stressing stuff out further.

I think you are good on this one, so long as you are patient with the cycle. Adding more ammonia now might just prolong it.

Are you testing Nitrites/Nitrates to see if the ammonia is being converted?

Amazon or BRS for Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride if you need it for cycling a tank down the road.

Some people claim they were ready for fish in a week with Dr Tim's and other products. It took me about 3 weeks before I was sure my nitrites/nitrates were in line, but I had over 500 gallons of water and nearly 300lbs of rock with 200lbs of sand.

I emailed Dr.Tim and talked to him and he said the highest heat the bacteria can withstand is 130-140° so even with our wonderful Louisiana heat the bacteria can still survive.

I picked up some Bio spira (spelling)

And added it to the tank to see if it would help any. I also ordered some Marine pure to put in the sump. Only reason I got those is because the wife got a bunny yesterday 😂

Bayou Reefkeeping is a Louisiana based reef club dedicated to the marine and reef hobbyist in the Gulf Coast region and surrounding areas.
All messages and views expressed here are those of the message author and do not reflect the opinions of BayouRreefkeeping.com or its owners.